HOW DO I PUT OFF MY FRIEND FROM GETTING A TATOO?

Question

my friend,16,desperatley wants a tattoo! i think its a terrible idea how do i try and put her off!?please

Answer 1

tell her all of the cons of having a tattoo!

Answer 2

You don't. There is no putting someone off of getting a tattoo if they want one badly enough. The best thing you can do is make sure that, if she does end up getting one, that it is from someone clean and safe and that it's in a spot that can be hidden. 16 is young and you need parental permission, so hopefully she still has 2 years to wait before she can get one. And if she still wants a tattoo in two years... I say she should go for it.

Answer 3

get a wash off fake one and say i got one... but it hurt sooooo bad and its getting infected and then rubb strawberries around it till redish

Answer 4

It could limit her in her search for meaningful employment down the line. Image means everything and you don't want people thinking you're a hooker or a lowlife

Answer 5

its not your place to tell her not to get a tattoo... end of story.

Answer 6

Let her know it could come back and bite her in the future. No good job is going to hire someone that's all "tatted up" whether you feel it's right or not. Many people also associate tattoos with criminals and lowlife, gutter individuals. While it may not be fair, that's just how things work, and forget about the "I don't care what people think" BS, because you have to care somewhere down the line, especially when it comes down to employment, and I'm not talking about some fast food joint.

I'm laughing at some of the comments above like, "she wants to, so what can you do?" Such a view is simplistic, and quite nonsensical. There is something called reason, and it is something that you use when you feel someone is going to make a poor judgement, especially something that could effect them later on in life in a negative way. It's like if your friend has an incident with an individual and says he/she "wants" to shoot them. Would you really not intervene just because that is something they "want" to do? I think not

Now, I'm not equating getting a tattoo to shooting someone, but the point I was trying to make in the second paragraph was that the "want" argument was full of holes and truly absurd.

Answer 7

get her to draw exactly what she wants. now convince her to wait 1 year and then have a look at the drawing and she will realize how quickly she has changed her mind

Answer 8

You can't stop her from getting it. What is your reason? Remember the old Latin saying "In matters of taste, there is no dispute." If you just don't like tattoos or her design, you're not going to discourage her. And if you are too argumentative, it is only going to alienate you from her. However, as a friend, you should make sure that she is going someplace safe and legal. If she is planning on getting it without a parent's permission or in a state where it is illegal to get a tattoo at her age, by all means do everything you can to make sure she doesn't get it (including telling her parents, if applicable). This is looking out for her safety. Make sure she is aware of the risks of getting tattooed at a cheap parlor (including an ugly tattoo, HIV, staph infections, and hepatitis), and is willing to pay for a good one. If you have issue with her design, let her know what you don't like about it or encourage her to think about it for 6 months and then get the tattoo if she still wants it. If she has done her research, found a good, legal, clean parlor, and has thought about the design for a long time, then you are going to have to step aside and realize that it is up to her and her parents to make a good decision. Just because you would regret getting a tattoo doesn't mean that she will, so your only recourse may be offering your support.

Answer 9

tell her that it is gonnaa get ugly and wrinkly when she gets old.  

Answer 10

it wont be cool when she is old

Answer 11

tell her its going to be on her for the rest of her life and shes going to have it when shes an old lady and all wrinkly and the tatoo will mush together and look like c**p

Answer 12

Let her get it, and then say 'I told you so' when she doesn't like it a week later.

Answer 13

Tell her parents, duh!

Then it'll be their problem, not yours.

Answer 14

You cant, leave her alone and let her make her own choices. Its her body, let her adorn it how she pleases.  

Answer 15

It is great that you want to be a good friend but I really doubt there is anything you can say to her will change her mind.  The good thing is that at 16 she needs her parents permission so hopefully they are not ok with it. Good Luck

Answer 16

I'm not sure why you're discouraging her from doing something she really wants to do.

If it's because YOU think tattoos are gross, wrong or whatever, then you should stay out of it. You're not the one getting it done, she is. You shouldn't let your own personal biases get in the way of her doing something she really wants to do. Instead, support her on her decision, or at least keep your comments to yourself.

If, however, if it's the tattoo itself that bothers you and not tattoos in general (for example, maybe it will be in an obvious place, isn't meaningful to her, is something she'll grow out of or something like that) then maybe try to talk to her about your concerns. Tell her your point of view and what you think. Keep in mind, she is her own person and just because she's doing something you wouldn't do doesn't mean it's wrong.

Answer 17

Print out stories or pictures of tattoos turning out wrong. Like stories of people getting AIDs, or some skin rash/disease.

You know what I mean?

Answer 18

tell her that its going to be permanent

and if her skin grows it will look light fat or gross

good luck

Answer 19

Well you can always tell her it's against the law unless she has parental consent...

Other than that it's her body and she can do with it what she wants.